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With more and more organisations now turning their focus to net zero, we take a look at the exciting career opportunities that the changes could bring.
The energy transition landscape
In recent years we’ve seen energy and engineering companies move away from traditional fossil fuels and heavy industry, and instead turn their focus to strengthening their business activities relating to net zero and green energy.
In the energy industry, we’re seeing more opportunities to work on upcoming projects such as hydrogen, carbon capture and wind energy. Whilst in the built environment sector, heat pumps, retrofitting and smart devices are shifting the focus to energy efficiency.
We’re even seeing our clients growing their internal teams tasked with delivering net zero, from strategies and plans to practical installation.
For anyone looking to change their career and start developing their skills to support the race to net zero, there’s never been a better time to make the move.
Recognising transferrable skills
For our Falkirk Recruitment Director Mhairi Brown, the continued drive to boost wind energy production across Scotland’s shores and waters means they’re all too familiar with thinking outside the box to fill roles where existing experience just isn’t an option.
“To successfully build and manage new net zero projects, the industry will need to recruit a large number of engineering roles over the next few years. With these green energy industries still being relatively new to the energy sector, companies often find a shortage of skilled candidates with direct experience.”
Sectors such as oil, gas and petrochemical are a great place to identify transferrable skills to secure new talent for renewable energy projects. For roles such as project management, health & safety and procurement, some additional training may be required to settle into a new sector, but the key skills previously gained could prove extremely valuable. In fact, the same could be said about many other industries – if someone is involved in the delivery of a large-scale infrastructure project for example, they will have a wide range of gained knowledge, such as problem-solving skills, that could be reapplied to net zero industries such as renewable energy. Helping to tap into a more diverse and wider-reaching talent pool.
Identifying the right people
At NRL we’re passionate about culture – from our own which acts as a moral compass for how we operate, to understanding the culture within our client’s offices and operations. That’s because we truly believe that a cultural fit is more valuable than a highly experienced candidate who doesn’t align to our client’s core values.
Many sector-specific skills can easily be trained, and if clients are open to finding the right people and adjusting their development plans to slowly bring them up to speed, then taking a culture-first approach could help attract new candidates. Supplementary training for the right person, including utilising the apprentice levy, can provide a great opportunity to provide long-term career progression for new colleagues joining the business.
Practical tips for candidates
If you’re interested in applying for roles to support the clean energy transition, then we’ve included some useful tips below to help with your job search.
Pick up the phone and chat with a recruiter -let them know your work experience and the types of roles you’d be interested in, and they’ll often be able to give you advice to help you with job applications
Refresh your CV – make more of a focus on the technical skills you demonstrated when working in previous roles and the projects you were involved with, so recruiters and potential employers can easily match your transferrable skills with job descriptions
Follow the latest industry news – being able to talk enthusiastically about the energy transition during job interviews will help to demonstrate your industry knowledge
Get interactive - follow key organisations and industry trade associations on social media and sign up to their newsletters and webinars – comment and interact with their posts to show that you’re interested
Did you know?
The UK Government’s Green Jobs Taskforce, established in November 2020, say they will support the creation of 2 million skilled green jobs to help the country reach net zero by 2050. The taskforce will specifically focus on power, homes and buildings, transport, decarbonisation, climate adaption as well as nature restoration and new emerging technologies such as carbon capture.
Looking to make a net zero career move?
You can search for your next net zero and renewable energy role by clicking the link below.
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